Last week, FOX News anchor Sean Hannity apologized to viewers after Comedy Central's Daily Show slammed the network for using footage of that Sept. 12 Tea Party rally in Washington evidently to make a Nov. 5 anti-health reform rally look bigger.

Just yesterday, ThinkProgress.org caught FOX News showing what was clearly footage of a 2008 Sarah Palin campaign rally but claiming that it was video of "huge crowds" attending Palin's book tour. Of course, FOX network execs immediately declared that the incident was simply 'an innocent mix-up.'

Sure, news networks make mistakes — but no other mainstream media network has made nearly so many 'mistakes' in so short a period of time as has FOX News. Not only that, but ALL of FOX News' "mistakes" were made in such a way that – if the mistakes hadn't been caught – would have supported the Republican party.

"Fair and balanced"?

"We report, you decide"?

Please.

The Republicans wrap themselves in the flag — and so does FOX News. To them, it's supposedly a matter of patriotism, of honor. Yet how honorable is it for a major news network to repeatedly – and by all appearances intentionally – falsify the news, and to do it in such a way as to support one political party over another? How honorable is it for that same news network to apparently encourage such a lack of journalistic integrity? And how honorable is it for the Republicans to continue to be so intertwined with FOX News?

I remember the days when there was another major news organization that had a habit of falsifying the news to support a particular political party. This news organization was referred to with scorn and its name became a shameful byword for editorial corruption and lack of journalistic integrity. It got so bad that whenever that particular newspaper printed something, it was assumed that the story was either completely false or spun in such a way to support the political party in question That news organization's name was Pravda — which is the Russian word for "truth."

Looks like America has its own version of Pravda now — and its name is FOX News.

The use of misleading footage is pretty embarrassing, but not as disturbing as Fox’s promotion of the tea party rallies on April 15 and again on Sept 12. Covering them sympathetically is one thing; cheerleading for them is quite another.

In April they actually held four parties themselves, by region, branded as “FNC Tax Day Tea Parties.” And of course Glenn Beck invented the Sept. 12 gathering [though he chose not to attend — just hosted an afternoon-long special from a studio].

None of the people who complain that Sarah Palin is being ‘demeaned’ by the ‘MSM’ seem to be bothered by Fox hosting and even branding tea parties.

But your claim fits in with so many other conservative claims – you point out something a liberal has done wrong…and use that as an excuse for the conservatives doing the SAME thing wrong to a FAR greater extent.

Just like the whole ACORN strawman – you point out the voter registration fraud by a few of the foot soldiers of ACORN (most of whom were turned in by ACORN itself) (and which led to NOT ONE illegal vote cast), but ignore the even more illegal voter caging by the Republicans (which led to the disenfranchisement of many thousands of eligible voters).

We Dems have a splinter in our eye. You’ve got a log…and refuse to see it.

zingzing

dave’s not a conservative hack… dave’s not a conservative hacky sack… davie’s not a consoivative hacky sack of shit… davie’s not a consruarvitive sacky of hacky shitsky… davie’daniel’s not a consooovititoivy sackyshtchtuppy sack of hacky sacky kicking hacky sacks of shit…

zingzing

dave, you’re a conservative. just realize it. you are becoming what you fear. believe. believe. belize.

zingzing

either fox news is stupid…

or they think their viewers are.

manipulation is easy when you’re manipulating hicks, i guess.*

*fuck hicks.

Jordan Richardson

And this would be different from MSNBC’s use of photoshopped photos of Sarah Palin in a bikini with an assault rifle because…

MSNBC’s segment was mocking Palin, from what I remember. FOX News was not mocking anything (save for the intelligence of the American people); they were reporting the news.

So yeah, Dave, there’s a difference.

Arch Conservative

At least Fox doesn’t use “fake but accurate” documents when reporting a story.

Glenn, your partisanship is showing. My point was that the media in general is corrupt and lazy and that it’s not a phenomenon unique to Fox News. The evidence clearly backs up that position, whether you like it or not.

And BTW, Glenn, you’re as guilty as anyone with the misleading title you put on this story. The event Fox was covering was not a GOP sponsored event, yet like so many on the left you try to diminish anything which happens in the grassroots by trying to misrepresent it as something orchestrated by FoxNews or the GOP.

Or how about reading how Fox showed in Really Big Numbers how the GOP health ‘plan’ cost $5K less than the Dem’s plan…but somehow forgot to add that the GOP plan wouldn’t cover uninsured, wouldn’t significantly lower premiums, would reduce deficit less than the Dems’ plan.

yet like so many on the left you try to diminish anything which happens in the grassroots by trying to misrepresent it as something orchestrated by FoxNews or the GOP.

yet, like so many on the right, you portray events as having “grassroots” origins, when that is clearly not the case.

happy cliche friday, pass the irony paste.

Glenn Contrarian

Dave –

I’m not that naive. I know that every news organization lies once in a while; sometimes by orders from the top, and sometimes because of a decision by the reporter on the scene.

BUT as with so much else between the liberals and the conservatives, it’s a matter of DEGREE…because no other major American news organization has such a proven track record of error, manipulation, and outright lies as does Fox.

No other major news organization in America even comes remotely close.

‘Pravda’, indeed.

Mark

Typical distraction technique, Dave.

The fact that the ‘lefty MSMers’ are conniving bastards doesn’t make the FOXes any less liars.

Mark, my point is that it’s not a problem at FoxNews. If it’s a problem at all, it pervades our entire media environment.

That they are all liars does not excuse fox news, but it does make me shrug and think “so what?”

Dave

Glenn Contrarian

Dave –

Obviously you ignored what I pointed out:

BUT as with so much else between the liberals and the conservatives, it’s a matter of DEGREE…because no other major American news organization has such a proven track record of error, manipulation, and outright lies as does Fox.

Doug Hunter

Media matters is a leftist douche talking point generator.

So Glenn et al are claiming showing the wrong Palin clip in the background when talking about a book signing is somehow worse than cropping an assault rifle video of a black man while talking about how racist overtones and evil whitey are bringing guns to rallies.

Pathetic, really. Now run along to media matters and Jon Stewart so they can tell you what to think and how to respond.

I watched coverage of the gun toting fellow on MSNBC, and there was no effort to hide the fact that he was black.

Obviously, FOX News and MSNBC are polar opposites. However, I have never seen anything on MSNBC that rose to the level of deceit and outright lies as have been broadcast on FOX.

While Olbermann is often over the top, he is a paragon of virtue compared to the likes of Hannity and Beck. Olbermann and Maddow, the mainstays of MSNBCs primetime programming, have a level of intelligence that has the effect of leavening their bias.
Hannity, Beck and others on FOX show no such restraint. Instead, they bank on the relatively unsophisticated nature of their avid watchers to make totally ridiculous and totally false accusations against Obama and the left, knowing full well that they will lap it all up without question. My niece still believes Obama to be a muslim. She is an avid FOXer.

B

Arch Conservative

While Olbermann is often over the top,

That’s an awfully polite euphemism for batshit crazy.

If Olberman and Maddow are so intelligient and virtuous why is it that they can’t manage even once to have an open and frank debate with someone of an opposing viewpoint on their shows? instead it’s a steady parade of yesmen/women from the NYT, NOW, NARAL, and every other left wing outfit.

Btones definition of a sophisticated viewer is someone who appreciates a puppet like Olbermann reading left wing propaganda from a teleprompter night after night.

The real reason moonbats hate fox is because they are close minded and cannot stand the thought of any seeing the world differently than they do.

zingzing

“The real reason moonbats hate fox is because they are close minded and cannot stand the thought of any seeing the world differently than they do.”

I can see why Olbermann irritates conservatives, but he’s smart and articulate and funny. Maybe Beck is just the conservative equivalent, but he seems loony and reckless and ridiculous to me.

zingzing

come on, dave. bigotry? where? how? when?

i’ll flat out give you condescension, but you are quite guilty of that yourself. ignorance… he’s more entertainment than actual political commentary, and i think you should easily be able to point to right wing ignorance by this point… so, you can have that one as well. i don’t care.

but bigotry? against whom? disagreeing with someone and calling them stupid isn’t bigotry, no matter how you’d like to define it. of course, you do have a special way with definitions…

Glenn Contrarian

BUT HAS MSNBC HAD EVEN ONE-FIFTH OF THE MISTAKES, MANIPULATIONS, AND LIES THAT FOX NEWS IS PROVEN TO HAVE AIRED?

No.

So for Dave, Arch, Baronius, et al, MSNBC has a splinter in its eye, but Fox has a doggone log in its eye…because while you’re all pointing out the FEW times MSNBC has done anything wrong, you’re IGNORING the many, MANY times Fox News has lied and manipulated the news.

How many of you understand what the words “a matter of degree” mean? How many of you understand that if you see a guy do something wrong once or twice, but you see another guy do the same thing wrong twenty, thirty times or more, that you go after the GREATER offender FIRST!

Oh – but I forGOT! Fox supports the conservatives, so they can twist the news scores of times for every ONE time that MSNBC does. And NO, the ratio of twenty-to-one is NOT an exaggeration.

Jordan Richardson

It shouldn’t matter what side of the political spectrum FOX News sits on. The daily parade of twisting and lying that goes on at that network should embarrass anyone who cares even a little about truth and integrity.

The only reliable conclusion left is that the conservatives touting FOX in this thread and on others don’t care too much about truth and integrity.

All news organizations manipulate the news in order to suit their demographic. That’s part and parcel with having corporate sponsors and thirsting for viewers and ratings. But FOX News does this and then some, purposely turning into a partisan outfit of the mainstream media while simultaneously decrying the “mainstream media.”

And it’s nice to see Dave continue to deflect his own ignorance and bigotry on to others. I’m not sure why I keep expecting him to change.

Jordan Richardson

In terms of opinion shows, I think those are fair game. I understand why FOX would want Glenn Beck, just as I understand why MSNBC would want Olbermann. But if anyone actually thinks the two shows are comparable (when has Olbermann mimicked the poisoning of a public figure or continually used violent or derogatory language?), I’m not sure what to say.

Conservatives might not like the “attitudes” of Olbermann and Maddow, but I honestly can’t see how anyone can compare those two with clods like Beck or Hannity. That O’Reilly is the “sensible guy” on FOX these days speaks volumes.

Arch Conservative

“I can see why Olbermann irritates conservatives, but he’s smart and articulate and funny”

MMMM no. He reads from a teleprompter and never has debate on his show or anyone who would dare stary from standard leftist talking points.

What is this fascination you lefties have with teleprompter reading fools.

If I buy a teleprompter, fill it up with lefty propaganda and read from it will you all love me too?

What is this fascination you fools have with teleprompters? Obama is not the first politician to use one, but if that’s the depth of your charges or your wit, you really need to up your game.

Olbermann has absolutely exhibited bigotry on his show to those he disagrees with. That’s what opinion hosts do so it would be surprising if he didn’t and to call him out for it is rather silly. He also gets stuff wrong and skews items for his audience like the others. Too much for my tastes but it brings in the ratings so can’t argue with what works.

However Hannity and Beck are imbeciles. I’ll put Olbermann calling Bill O’Reilly “the Frank Burns of news” and using Ted Baxter’s voice when quoting him as smarter and funnier than anything anyone on FOX has done.

One of Obama’s most politically significant speeches was at the Jefferson/Jackson Dinner before the 2008 Iowa caucuses.

He not only didn’t use a teleprompter; he didn’t use notes. Yet he wowed most everyone who heard him.

The president’s eloquence is one quality that is hard to deny. But some on the right have latched on to his skillful use of teleprompters as somehow being an invalidation of this eloquence. Anyone, even Arch, could do it.

Glenn, I don’t buy your argument that FoxNews has more deception and mistakes than MSNBC. I’m confident that if anyone actually watched MSNBC and put it under the same kind of scrutiny as FoxNews they would find just as many questionable things in their broadcasts.

If you look at the criticisms of FoxNews at MediaMatters, most of what they raise isn’t really deliberate deception, it’s just opinion or interpretation which they happen not to agree with. We used to have a writer on BC named David Marks who also wrote for MM, and his work was characterized by taking opinions which were clearly subjective and classing them as “lies” because hehappened not to agree with them. That kind of analysis is typical of the approach taken by the left to FoxNews and other right-leaning journalism.

I know there are people out there who take the same kind of biased approach to analyzing MSNBC, but because no one really cares about MSNBC the way that people on both sides care about FoxNews, it gets much less exposure.

And just to remind you that the Palin photo gaffe isn’t an isolated incident, remember a few weeks ago when MSNBC repeated bogus quotes from Rush Limbaugh which someone had just made up, and then had to apologize for it? There’s a pattern here.

Glenn, I don’t buy your argument that FoxNews has more deception and mistakes than MSNBC. I’m confident that if anyone actually watched MSNBC and put it under the same kind of scrutiny as FoxNews they would find just as many questionable things in their broadcasts.

Boy, you’re REALLY drinking the Kool-Aid in deep draughts today!

The ‘AIM’ website you referred me to – they’ must be REALLY non-partisan because they’ve got headlines like “Muslim, but Presumed Innocent”…which article strongly implies that there’s something wrong with the presumption of innocence when the suspect is Muslim.

And as for the “Media Research Center” – did you really look at the difference between the MRC and MediaMatters.org? Mediamatters.org DOES have a lot of political opinion on the page…but at least half the articles directly specify actual errors and inaccurate claims by Fox and by other Republicans and conservatives in the media.

MRC, on the other hand, is almost completely opinion…and here’s a link to where your MRC gave an “A” to Fox News for its coverage of the 9/12 protest in Washington D.C. – the very same protest where a Fox News producer was filmed rallying the crowd on how to respond to the speakers!

FACTS, Dave! Demand the facts not only of those you oppose, but ALSO of those you support. You owe yourself at least that much due diligence.

zingzing

dave: “…if anyone actually watched MSNBC and put it under the same kind of scrutiny as FoxNews… ”

oh, so you’re saying you don’t watch msnbc, but you know it’s just as bad as fox? people actually DO watch msnbc, some of them looking for just this kind of thing, and they don’t find it nearly as often. fox is in a class of its own. if it wasn’t, you’d know. it’s no surprise to any of us that fox stoops to this low level, but to fuck up this badly twice in one week is a bit surprising. liars, and stupid as well…

Now that the lying, manipulating efforts, the truth distortions, and the daily drumming into the American brain, of false information, has gotten the results Rupert Murdoch wanted, will he have those politicians that have been pushing his agenda, now concentrate on finishing the job of providing more wealth for the rich at the expense of the middle-class and the less fortunate? The rich conservatives bankrolling the efforts to elect their puppets, are expecting to get huge returns on the $billions they put in. All Republican efforts will be to pass legistation to reduce benefits to ordinary Americans, but which will increase benefits to large companies, in the financial, insurance, energy, pharmaceutical,and others, but at the same time will try to undo legislation meant to rein in big business abuses and greed. Healthcare, meant to provide affordable medical care for millions, will be their first target. The next target will be legislation which regulates companies responsible for the largest mortgage fraud in history perpretrated on the American people.